Stay While I Fall Apart
by LostOne125
Summary: Reid/Caleb. male/male. slash sequel to "Let Me Share This Burden" and "I'm Not Going Anywhere." Caleb and Reid have finally gotten together and told each other how they feel, but something stands in their way. Is Caleb losing it or is it a warning?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Covenant or the characters.**

**Stay While I Fall Apart**

**Caleb**

The bed shook and trembled beneath him as he tossed and turned. Caleb shot up from the bed, his body slick with sweat. His heavy breathing filled the room. His eyes darted around, searching the darkened room.

There was nothing and no one. He put a hand to his chest to calm his erratic heartbeat. _It was just another nightmare. Just another dream. It wasn't real. _

Caleb stood unsteadily from the bed and stumbled to the bathroom, turning on the light. He turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face. He grabbed a towel to wipe the water off his face. His eyes trained on the reflection in the mirror. He didn't even know who was staring back at him. He was paler, and there were dark circles underneath his eyes.

It had been weeks since he and Reid had been together, since he had seen Chase in the cafeteria, since his nightmares had gotten worse, since he began to feel …different.

Footsteps padded across the carpet, and a head filled with messy blonde hair appeared in the doorway.

"You okay?" Reid asked, blinking at him sleepily.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had to use the bathroom. That's all," he lied.

His boyfriend looked at him suspiciously. "Don't lie to me, Caleb."

"I'm not. Go back to bed. I'm coming."

Reid's eyes trailed over his body and landed back on his face, studying it. When it seemed like he was satisfied, the blonde left and went back to bed.

Caleb sighed in relief. He couldn't deal with Reid's mother-hening, so he had been lying about his dreams for a while now, telling him they stopped. He had already told Tyler and Pogue about the dreams, but they also didn't know what to think about them.

Caleb could still see the fear on their faces, when he finally got the courage to tell them. That was the last thing he wanted, so he decided to stop telling them about it, especially Reid. He didn't tell the blonde that his nightmares were getting worse and more realistic. He didn't want to scare them. He just had a bad feeling. Something was going to happen.

He went back to the bed and settled beside Reid, who immediately curled around him protectively.

"Caleb, you would tell me, if something else was bothering you, right?" Reid mouthed into his chest.

"Yeah, of course," he lied.

The night passed on with more appearances from Chase in his dreams. When morning came, Caleb felt horrible. He felt so drained.

It took everything in him to get up from the bed and get ready for school. Reid had been staying over at his house more and more since they got together. The blonde learned to bring some extra clothes, when he spent the night. They rushed around each other to get ready for school.

Caleb drove them both to school. Their conversation was normal, but Caleb could tell Reid wanted to say more. Yet, the blonde never said anything else.

They met up with Pogue and Tyler and went to class. Caleb took his normal seat by Pogue.

Pogue leaned over and whispered. "Are you okay, man? You kind of look like shit."

"It's nothing. I'll be alright," he replied. Pogue simply stared at him for a few minutes and shook his head.

"I don't like this, Caleb. You're not yourself lately. You're not still having those dreams, are you because if you are they mean something?"

"I'm not having those dreams anymore, honest. Relax." But, Caleb felt the same, but he wasn't going to admit it. It would only worry his friends more than they already were. These were signs.

When class had let out, Caleb had ducked into a bathroom. He told the others he would catch up with them. He dropped his backpack onto the floor and turned on the faucet. He splashed some water onto his face and grabbed for some paper towels to wipe his face. The towel was rough against his skin and his tender eyes.

He glanced up into the mirror and let out a shout, stumbling from the mirror. He turned away, breathing heavily and loosened his tie to make it easier to breathe.

He faced the mirror once again and there was nothing there. A trembling hand reached up and touched his face.

It was him, but…The tardy bell rang, so he picked his backpack up and rushed from the bathroom.

He felt like he was slowly losing his mind. In the hallway, he kept catching glimpses of that familiar face. Something was wrong, so very wrong.

At one instance, the figure had looked so real as he saw it enter a room, so he had followed it only to face a confused, amused classroom and a pissed-off teacher. Caleb quickly apologized and scurried out of the room.

The things from that night were finally taking its toll on him. There was no one to talk to. He had shared enough with Reid, and he couldn't tell the others or his mom. They would only worry.

He'd have to carry this on his own, besides what if they were warnings. What if this was Chase's way of letting him know his intent? He was coming back. Or what if he was just going insane, finally losing it.

At the lunchroom table, he had sat there quietly, spreading his food around his plate. He could feel eyes focused on him, but he said nothing.

"Caleb, are you alright?" Tyler asked, worriedly. Caleb glanced up and saw that everyone at the table was listening intently to his answer.

He plastered a fake grin on his face. "I'm fine, baby boy. Just a little tired." Reid sent him a suspicious look, but he ignored it. He was getting good at that lately.

Caleb just grinned at Reid and watched those pale lips pull up into a smile. It bought him a small amount of comfort.

Basically he and Reid were sitting there, smiling at each other, while Pogue and Tyler were rolling their eyes and making gagging noises, which drew the lovebirds out of their reverie. They all shared a laugh after that. For just one second, Caleb felt normal, like the old days.

Then he gazed up and over Reid's shoulder and shouted, falling backwards out of his chair, landing hard on the linoleum floor.

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Sorry it took so long for me to post this sequel. School kind of got distracting.

Hope you liked this chapter.

Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Covenant or the characters.**

**Caleb**

Caleb was lying down in the nurse's office. Everyone had gotten into their heads that he had fainted at lunch or simply fell backwards and hit his head, which the second option really wasn't too far from truth. It's what caused him to shout and fall back, but he hadn't said anything to the guys or Reid.

But he knew what he saw. Chase had been right there or at least that's what he had seen. Tears pricked at his eyelids as he closed them. Even though Chase was supposed to be dead, he was still haunting him, torturing him with his presence in his dreams, and now when he was clearly awake. He couldn't put this on anyone else. It was up to him now. He just needed time alone to figure this all out.

The nurse, Mrs. Lewis, came back with a new bag of ice for his head. "Here you go. You took quite a tumble."

He smiled weakly at her. "I just sort of lost my balance."

"Well, be careful next time. You're free to go back to class if you like. You should be fine now. I would take something for the pain when you get home."

He nodded minutely at her as he got up with the ice pack to his head. He quickly walked out and down the long, empty hallway. Suddenly going to class felt like a burden and instead his feet led him to a side door of the school. He pushed open the door and sprinted to his car, his feet slapping against the cement. He got into his car and sped off.

Caleb concentrated on the feel of the engine underneath his feet and fingertips. It was a nice distraction from the turmoil going on inside his head. Finally he made it back to his house.

When he stepped inside, the mansion was silent and didn't seem like anyone was here. His mother was nowhere to be seen. Caleb ran up the stairs to his room and closed and locked the door. He quickly undressed and walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

When he finished, he dried off and put on some sweats. Caleb's body felt weary, and his mind felt battered. Everything was becoming too much, the dreams, the broad daylight hallucinations, Reid's worrying, Pogue and Tyler's constant questions, and that unknown threat of danger from Chase. Sometimes he wished he could just make it all stop, make it all go away.

He was still pretty early but to him felt like it was time to go to bed. He flopped down on top of his blankets and let the darkness take over.

Caleb woke up with a jump, sitting up in bed; he saw that his phone was ringing. He reached over onto the nightstand and picked up the phone.

"Caleb, you asshole. You just left me at school. What the hell were you thinking? I can't believe you…"

Caleb pulled the phone away as Reid continued to rant. When the voice calmed down and Reid was calling his name, he put it back to his ear.

"I'm sorry, Reid. I was tired, and I really just wanted to be alone. That whole thing was kind of embarrassing in the cafeteria. You can't really blame me for skipping, can you?"

He heard grumbling and a few curse words.

"Fine then. I understand skipping class but what about ditching me? All you had to do was tell me you didn't want me around. Am I bugging you?"

"That's not what I meant, Reid. I just need some time alone. That's all."

He heard a sigh from the other end.

"I'll give you all the space you need, Caleb. See you tomorrow."

Before he could say anything else, Reid hung up in his face. Caleb stared at the phone for a few minutes in confusion and hurt. He placed the phone back on his night stand and curled up on the bed. As he stared out the window, the sky began to turn into a dusty orange as the sun began to set.

Sometimes dealing with Reid could be a little too much. Why was he overreacting? Was it because of last time, when he said he needed space? He bought his pillow to his face and began to curse and yell into it. How could he have been so stupid? He could call Reid and apologize, but the blonde probably wouldn't answer him.

Caleb twisted and flopped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. When had his life become so complicated and so aggravating? He couldn't have any peace.

This all stemmed from that night with Chase. The fifth member of the Covenant was supposed to be gone, but he followed him everywhere and now it was starting to interfere with his life and his relationships.

These thoughts swirled in his head as he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Caleb woke with a start, noticing that it was finally dark outside. He put a hand against his chest where he could feel his heartbeat pounding like he had run a marathon. He sat up a little in bed, trying calm his racing heart, but it didn't help.

Caleb gasped for breath. _What was going on?_

"Is it a little too much for you, Caleb?" a voice called from the dark corner of his room.

Startled, Caleb tried to reach for the light on his nightstand, but suddenly his hands and legs slammed back to the bed, and he couldn't move.

"I wouldn't try to move too much, if I were you. It'll only make it worse."

"Who's there?" Caleb rasped.

Dread churned in his belly as a figure stepped out of the shadows into the light pouring from his window.

_No, No, No. This was just a bad dream._

Caleb trembled in his bed. He closed his eyes. _Wake up. Wake up. Wake up._

Laughter filled the room.

He opened his eyes and Chase was still standing there, dressed all in black. The shadows cast across his face only made him look more cold and calculating.

Chase walked closer to the bed and sat down on the edge. "This isn't a dream, Caleb."

"How are you here? I killed you. I saw it."

Chase smirked. "You did kill me. "

A hand reached out and touched his face and Caleb flinched away. "I don't understand…how are you here…How are you doing this? You shouldn't be able to hold me down like this…You can't be real."

Caleb struggled against the bed, but it was like his arms and legs were being held down. _If Chase was dead, how was he here? Nothing made sense here anymore. _

Chase watched in amusement as the other boy squirmed in the bed. "I'm here because you left yourself open to vulnerability."

Caleb ceased his movements to glare at Chase. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Chase crawled over his legs and straddled him, which only increased Caleb's desperate attempts to move his body.

"You're a failure, Caleb. Everyone knows it. The one thing you swore to do and you failed at it. You couldn't even keep your friends and family safe. Sarah, Kate, and Pogue almost died because of you."

Caleb lay still and sucked in a breath sharply. "No…But, I stopped you. I defeated you."

Chase looked at him good- naturedly, like 'sure, if you want to believe that.' "No, you didn't. You barely beat me, and if I'm really dead, then why am I here? Obviously, someone doesn't know what they're talking about."

He slid his hands up Caleb's chest to grip his face roughly, staring into his eyes. "You're a fucking mess, and everyone knows. Pogue, Tyler, and even Reid think you've lost it. They don't believe in you anymore. They've given up on you."

"No, that's not true. They know I'm telling the truth." Caleb wanted to believe in what he was saying but even his voice sounded weak to him. He stared up into gray eyes and became mesmerized.

"You're brothers don't believe in you. They don't care about you. For months, they ignored you, even though they knew you were in pain. Is that friendship?"

Tears slid down Caleb's cheeks and shook his head. "They did care. Reid tried to help…"

Chase started laughing. "Reid…You think Reid actually cares about your feelings. This is just another way for him to get under your skin by getting to your heart and inside your pants. And you pathetic loser, you fell for it. I thought you were a lot smarter than that. "

The gray eyes above him suddenly turned black and Caleb could feel himself being drawn into the darkness. Chase's words ran in his mind like a record on play.

"You're right. They don't care," Caleb whispered, his body going slack.

"Of course, I'm right. Pogue, Tyler, Reid, Kate, Sarah, even your own mother doesn't care about you anymore. You're alone. You have no one."

Caleb could feel the darkness reaching down inside him, and he could feel himself reaching back. He was so tired of everything; all the nightmares, hallucinations, the drama, and the power. It was too much. All of it was too much. He couldn't take it anymore.

Chase gazed down at him intensely. "You don't have to be alone though, Caleb. I could be there for you. All you have to do is let me in."

Caleb suddenly felt a little resistance rise up in him as he was transfixed by Chase's eyes. "Why should I? You tried to kill me. All of this is your fault anyway."

A ripple of power turned the air electric as Chase bent down closer to Caleb's face. "Yeah, but I can change. Isn't that what you wanted? Deep down you hoped you would be able to change my mind, so I could become one of you right. Well, I'm asking to be a part of you now. You have no one left. All you've got is me."

The pain of knowing that he was the one who killed Chase never left the back of his mind. He constantly thought about what he could've done differently to help Chase. He somehow felt like he had failed him. He owed him at least this, and at that moment, Caleb felt that darkness burrow deep down inside him and latch on and he let it.

Chase couldn't help the excitement that ran through him, and he leaned over and kissed him. The mouth underneath his opened up willingly and he plundered it, licking up every taste he could find, sucking on Caleb's tongue.

"That's it, Caleb. Let me in," he whispered against his mouth.

Once it was done, Caleb stared up at the ceiling blankly.

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Hope you like this chapter.

Please review.


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